Restraining order granted against Shaq

Restraining order granted against Shaq

by John Hollis - Aug. 22, 2008 03:20 PM
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

NBA star Shaquille O'Neal has been ordered to steer clear of an Atlanta-area woman who took out a restraining order Thursday.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks granted Alexis Miller's request Thursday after reviewing her allegations that the basketball player stalked her, threatened her with bodily harm and made harassing phone calls in which he breathed heavily into the phone before hanging up.

Miller, a 23-year-old hip-hop artist known professionally as Maryjane, claimed she ended an intimate relationship with O'Neal last month. She alleged he then threatened to pay performers $50,000 each not to work with her.

"It's been very difficult for her," said L. David Wolfe, Miller's Atlanta-based attorney. "Her fears are not only for herself but also the people around her." He said Miller, who has a young son, is "pretty traumatized."

Wolfe said Miller had known the 7-foot-1, 325-pound All-Star center for about a year and a half, and that the two became intimate over the past six to eight months.

The court affidavit quotes an e-mail from O'Neal as saying, "I dnt no who the [expletive] u think u dealin wit u will neva be heard from one phone call is I gotta make now try me. Sho me."

Wolfe said O'Neal, 36, still had not been served the legal paperwork as of early Friday afternoon. O'Neal's agent, Perry Rogers, did not return three phone messages left at his office Friday afternoon. Officials with the Suns couldn't be reached for comment.

Under terms of the temporary restraining order, O'Neal is prohibited from having any contact or even coming within 200 yards of Miller or her 19-month-old son. O'Neal, who resides in Florida, is not the father of the child, Wolfe said.

Both parties are scheduled to appear before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Karen Woodson on Sept. 4 to determine whether the restrictions should remain.

O'Neal has played 16 NBA seasons, winning three league championships with the Los Angeles Lakers (2000, 2001 and 2002) and another with the Miami Heat (2006). He was traded to the Phoenix Suns in February. The pro player was at the center of a controversy earlier this summer when he was caught on YouTube disparaging former teammate Kobe Bryant after the Lakers' loss to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.

O'Neal filed for divorce from his wife Shaunie in 2007 but recently indicated he wanted to reconcile with her.